//------------------------------//
// Episode 23: Observations 
// Story: EoH Evolution: Season 2 
// by Bahamut0 
//------------------------------//

Akage was intently focused on the calendar hanging on the wall of his and Pinkie Pie's room. It was currently November, and Hearth's Warming was right around the corner. Meaning that now was as good a time as any to purchase presents for his friends. Said friends being the other Elements of Heroism and the Main 6. "It's time."

The young ninja opened up the window, and leaped out! Landing on a nearby rooftop ledge. Pulling himself up, Akage perched himself so that he could view Unityville. Akage scanned through the crowds below when he spotted Tyrannus out and about. "Ah. First target acquired." Stealthily, Akage made his way over to a better vantage point to see what item had caught Ty's interest. Of all things, it was stuffed animal T-Rex. "Ah. Makes sense." Akage then vanished using a smoke bomb. As luck would have it, Tyrannus could've sworn he was being watched at the time.

Akage continued his observations of both the teams of elements. He noted Twilight's love of magic and books, Shadow's love of cosplay, Fang's interest in manga, Fluttershy's love of animals, Venus had a strong affinity for plants, Inferno's liking towards music, Steel's fascination with RPG videogames, and Ace and Ice's love of anime.

Pinkie's present is going to be easy enough to get. The girl loves sweets, so I might as well make her some cookies or give her a personalized candy assortment. Akage thought to himself as he finished observing Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash to find out what gift would be best for them. He decided on a new jacket, a scarf, and a Wonderbolts fact encyclopedia based on what his fellow Elements of Heroism had said about their interests. All that's left is to observe my fearless leader.

With that thought, Akage took to following Burst Stream. However, there was one difficulty Akage met when following Burst. That being because of Burst's extensive training with Aether, he was aware that he was being followed. "Hm?" Burst spun around, and looked right in the direction of where Akage had just barely ducked out of sight! "Could've sworn someone was watching me. . ." Burst continued on his walk. However, he kept looking behind him or over his shoulder to confirm whether his suspicions were correct. Since visual confirmation wasn't turning up any results, Burst tried to feel out who was following him by sensing their energy. But before Burst could hone-in, Akage had moved out of range! 

"Ugh! This is driving me nuts!" Burst exclaimed as he pulled at his hair! "I need to get my mind off this!" And with that, Burst rushed over to Sugar Cube Corner. Ordering a soda as he sat down.

Pinkie noticed the wary expression on Burst's face, and was curious as to what had the Element of Power so cautious. "Are you alright Burst? You look a bit jumpy today."

"It's just. . ." Burst let out a sigh. "For the past few minutes, I've sensed that someone's been tailing me. But even when I felt out their energy, they split!" Burst tightened his grip around the soda bottle. "And it's driving me crazy!"

Pinkie scratched her head in thought before smiling at a potential solution. "Oh! Maybe you could ask Akage for help! He's a ninja, so he's great at knowing how to catch whoever's following you! Here he is now. Up there." Pinkie pointed to the ceiling.

"Up. . . there?" Burst asked. The puzzled expression on his face vanishing when he saw Akage positioned against the ceiling. There was complete silence between the two for a few seconds. "You know, this seems kind of obvious in hindsight. But still-AH! CEILING NINJA!"

"Ah heh heh! Sorry!" Akage said with a nervous smile as he dropped down to the floor. "I just wanted to see what you liked so I'd have a good idea for your Hearth's Warming present."

Burst blinked. "That's all? Going the extra mile must be the standard amount of effort for you. Well, Yu-Gi-Oh! cards. I like Yu-Gi-Oh!, and I've been thinking about getting the rest of the guys into it too."

"Oh." Akage said with a nod. "Come to think of it, you DO look like a human version of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon." The ninja then let out a sigh of relief. "Mission accomplished. And now, I take my leave." Akage got into a ninja-vanish pose, but then came to an embarrassing realization when he noticed both Burst and Pinkie smirking at the fact he was still present. "I knew I should've brought extra smoke bombs."